08/31/2011

I arrived in Miami in the summer of '84. A skinny Cuban kid from New York. Up to that point, I had lived in a concrete box. As you know, that's how most kids live in New York. I had no idea what a yard was until I had arrived in South Florida. The fact that I could go outside at any time of the day was like being in heaven. Well, as much as heaven can feel like when you're 6 years old.

The summer of '84 was great. I would stay up late watching some of the greatest television shows ever created: The Cosby Show, Cheers, Family Ties, The A-Team, Night Court and of course, Miami Vice with my dad (Once in a while, I got stuck watching Dynasty with my mom. That Joan Collins was a real b--ch).

I was raving about movies like The Karate Kid (I remember crane kicking my cousin in the face trying re-create the final fight scene), The Terminator, Indiana Jones & the Temple of Doom, Police Academy, Nightmare on Elm Street, Ghostbusters and The Natural.

If I turned on my radio it was either Like A Virgin, Time After Time, Caribbean Queen, Born in the USA, or Thriller.

(Sports and Dad)

My dad is a MONSTER Yankee fan. So, the only sports poster in my room was Donnie Baseball and many of my early sports memories were of Yankee broadcasts and Phil Rizzuto yelling, "HOLY COW!"

However, none of that compared to when I saw Dan Marino shatter every single season passing record on the planet that year on the way to a Super Bowl.

I think about it now and tingles run through my body.

My father came to this country from Cuba in the 1960's and lived in Miami until 1975 when he and my mom married and moved to New York. That was before returning to Miami in the summer of 1984.

As we watched the Dolphins games, my dad would tell me about the history of the team. He told me what it was like watching the undefeated season and how Don Shula was a God among men. He told me the reason Don Shula was the greatest coach was because he was capable of winning with the, "No Name Defense, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid" as well as, the aerial assault navigated by, "Dan 'The Man' Marino."

I remember getting used to all the rain in Florida, but I also remember it raining touchdowns.

Week 1 they beat the Redskins on my seventh birthday.

Marino was pretty good that day too: 21 of 28, 311 yards and 5 TD's.

It was arguably the greatest present I had received that day.

Dan Marino had become my hero and the Dolphins were my team.

The Dolphins would start 11-0 and lose an overtime thriller in San Diego (as a Dolphins fan you hated those dreaded west coast games).

They eventually went 14-2 and ripped through the Seahawks and Steelers in the playoffs.

WE'RE GOING TO THE SUPER BOWL!

I remember getting up early that Sunday. My neighborhood buddies and I drew up posters and wanted people driving through the neighborhood to, "HONK IF YOU'RE A DOLPHINS FAN!"

We all know the result that day.

My dad and I swore that they'd get back and Marino would have his day.

I also made Joe Montana my sworn enemy from that day forward! (I think that only lasted a few years).

Over the years, my dad took me to games at the Orange Bowl and would let me stay up to watch Monday Night Football.

December 2nd, 1985

I can vividly recall my dad pointing out every single member of the 1972 undefeated team who roamed the sideline that day for that epic battle vs the Bears.

The outburst of emotion when Marino hit Nat Moore for a 33 yard touchdown could be heard for blocks (my mom always shushing us, saying "what will the neighbors think?")

Danny Boy threw for 270 yards 3 TD's and set up a couple of Ron Davenport touchdowns and before you knew it, the Dolphins were up 31-10 at half. There was no beating them that night.

I fell asleep midway through the fourth quarter.

What do you want from me? I was an 8 year old kid and had school the next day!

My dad woke me up. I asked, did we win? "Yup," he said.

It was a good night.

The Dolphins won the AFC East that year and somehow lost to the Patriots who split time at quarterback between Steve Grogan and Tony Eason. Who was the coach Steve Spurrier? (I know, I know, it was Raymond Berry)

Nonetheless, you could hold your head up high being a Dolphins fan.

The Lean Years (or so I thought)

From 1986 through 1989 the Dolphins weren't very good. The Killer B's were either not stinging or long since gone. It was basically, Marino and the Mark's Brothers.

They were still an entertaining team to watch. Any team with that guy at quarterback was going to be worth the price of admission.

So much so, that my dad spent his hard earned money on season tickets in the hopes that they could get back on the rails quickly. It didn't happen, but man, we had a blast at the games.

I remember the inaugural season at Joe Robbie Stadium. Everything was shiny and new. The bathrooms were also much larger. Unfortunately, that didn't mean anyone's aim got any better in the men's room.

They went 6-10 that year. One of only two losing seasons in Don Shula's 25 year run with the Dolphins. It was also, the only losing season Marino ever had.

Think about this for a second. The lowest point in my childhood was one 6-10 year.

The Dolphins were pretty good. They were never great. Only good enough to break my heart.

Don't get me wrong, there were some fun times; the narrow victory against the Chiefs in the 1990 playoffs, beating up on the San Diego Chargers in a rain soaked game in 1992, and Danny's revenge against Joe Montana (albeit against the Chiefs in '94.)

There were a few tough moments. Like Natrone Means stepping out of bounds at the two yard line and it being ruled a touchdown in San Diego (that was possibly the time I used the most curse words in one sentence, and it all actually made sense!).

Though, no one team in sports history gives me nightmares like Jim Kelly, Thurmon Thomas, Andre Reed, Bruce Smith and the Buffalo Bills.

Still to this day, I literally waking up in cold sweats thinking of screen passes to Thurmon Thomas.

They ruined my entire adolescence and they ushered out my coach in embarrassing fashion

Every time they lost a Super Bowl, part of me felt like I won. You could say it was a seminal moment in my life.

The Hater in me was born.

The talk show host in me thanks you, Marv Levy!

The Day My Fandom Died

After that, Jimmy Johnson came in on his white horse and was going to save my franchise that was teetering on greatness.

He was practically campaigning for the job while working at FOX.

He had just won back to back Super Bowls and had arguably the greatest run as a coach at the University of Miami.

What can go wrong?

He stripped the team down and tried to rebuild it like he did with Dallas.

The problem? He had no Herschel Walker. Well, he did, but, he'd have to trade Marino.

He wouldn't trade Marino, right?

RIGHT??!!

No, he didn't.

Though, looking back, that might have been his demise.

See, Jimmy had this three year plan. Jimmy was always great at outlining his goals to the media.

After the 1998 season ended in another playoff debacle, Jimmy had to be convinced to come back for one more year.

You knew that spelled disaster.

This last season of Jimmy also coincided with the first year I started covering the team.

Jimmy and Marino hated each other like poison. It was like watching your parents fight. It was particularly that way for me. Imagine, here's my childhood hero being pushed out the door by a guy who brought me some of the best times in my life as a sports fan.

I was terrified of both of them and just wanted to do my job and go home as quickly as possible.

For God's sake, Jimmy told Danny he couldn't audible in his last year! I mean, seriously?

Can you imagine what Marino was like after that conversation went down? It was probably very similar to the feeling he had after that Jaguars playoff game.

As I was watching my team get embarrassed in the worst beating in playoff history, I sank my sorrows in beer as I watched my hero play his last game.

That's the day the fan in me died.

The Rest of the Story: From Crown Jewel to Laughing Stock

The rest of the Dolphins history isn't very fun after that day. Shakespeare probably couldn't have written a better tragedy.

Wannstedt ruined the franchise. He took what Jimmy had started to build and ran it into the ground, along with Ricky Williams' body.

Nick Saban talked tough, but ran after he and six doctors failed to figure out Drew Brees was a better risk than Dante Culpepper.

All the Dolphins did was, "fail, forward, fast," in their lone season under Sham Cameron. They finished 1-15 and avoided infamy thanks to Greg Camarillo.

Bill Parcells came here and had the greatest turn around in NFL history in 2008. Though, a few years later we quickly realize that it was all a mirage.

So, we're left with a GM who we inherited without knowing if he can actually do the job.

A coach that the GM and owner (you) turned on, as they flew across the country to court the Niners eventual coach.

The owner (you) also hired a CEO who doesn't understand the history of this team or this town.

It was evident when they allowed the Dolphins team store to sell New York Jets gear.

Did they sell Yankees gear at the Red Sox team store when he worked there? I was there plenty of times and don't ever recall that being the case.

Most recently, this think tank of outsiders thought it would be ingenious to have a "Gator Day" celebrating the Florida Gators team that won it's latest National Championship at Sun Life Stadium in 2009?

Not only are you encouraging fans to openly root for the opposing team and their third string QB, but on top of that, you're also slapping one of your stadiums tenants in the face.

Dee had the audacity to say he didn't understand what all the fuss was about, because the two teams don't even play every year?

Ummm... Mike...

THAT'S THE FREAKING PROBLEM!!!!

I know they offered the U an opportunity to celebrate their 2001 National Championship team.

Week two versus the Texans might have been the right week to do it.

That idea only makes slightly more sense, but it's still ridiculous. Again, you're openly encouraging fans to root for the other team!

Mr. Ross, you grew up in Miami Beach a Dolphins fan. I'm sure, much like I have my memories with my dad, you have plenty of your own. Surely, in your heart of hearts you can't have thought this was a good idea.

There's no way a real Dolphins fan sees what's happened to this franchise over the last decade (most of which you weren't here for) and thinks that these gimmicks are going to remedy the situation.

You know what remedies this situation?

Winning.

That's it. Nothing more. Nothing less.

Your predecessor, for all intents and purposes, was a good man and an amazing business man at everything but being a football owner.

That proves the business of football isn't easy. I'm sure you learned that this off-season.

If Joe Robbie is the owner's equivalent to Don Shula, then Wayne was Jimmy.

Good, but never great with the Dolphins.

You sir are not trending towards Cam Cameron just yet. Thankfully! Though, you're feeling a bit Sparano-ish. You know, the guy you tried to replace.

I have never thought Tony is the biggest problem on the team. As a matter of fact, I like that he's trending less conservative.

You on the other hand, I don't know where you stand. Frankly, I don't know much about you at all.

I know you made a lot of money in real estate, you love Michigan Football and the Dolphins.

Well, since my childhood, I've purchased a few homes, I've been stealing money in the media biz for over a decade and I love the Dolphins too (contrary to popular belief).

So at least, we have the Dolphins in common.

This is an open invitation for you to contact me on or off the air and chat about what was once the crown jewel on South Florida.

I'm a pretty good gauge of the pulse of the community. I feel like maybe, we can both learn from each other.

08/29/2011

Never in my life as a sports fan/media member in South Florida have I felt this kind of despair.

Just recently, I did an interview for ESPN's Page 2 with Patrick Dorsey on the plight of South Florida sports. At the time, I explained it as being stuck in purgatory. Having no clue how any of the teams will perform, suspended in the air somewhere between the basement and knocking on the door of success.

Let's examine the situation here:

(University of Miami Hurricanes)

The University of Miami is embroiled in an NCAA scandal that has brought shame, embarrassment, overreaction, and anger all rolled into one. It's driven school President Donna Shalala to release Al-Jazeera like videos from her office. All while many in the national media yell for the death penalty.

Not saying that everyone who yells for the death penalty is clamoring for attention, but isn't it weird that the reporter who broke all this news, Charles Robinson, doesn't feel that the death penalty is warranted?

Let's be real here; It's an easy way to get people to click on links and keep those same people from changing the channel or station.

Certainly, FIU and FAU have done a nice job of late, but reality is those two programs are in their infancy and don't have the following, nor do they stir up the emotion Miami does.

I await Donna's next video with bated breath.

(Florida Marlins)

Stop me if you've heard this before.

If everything breaks right the Marlins could be in contention for the wild card!

I feel like that's been the rally cry for 6 seasons now.

Let's look at the season in a nutshell: they didn't have a 3B to start the season. You have no idea if the rotation would be good enough and you had no idea who was going to play CF.

Then, Josh Johnson got hurt (again). Hanley Ramirez gave us his typical dog & pony show off the field (again). Unfortunately, for the first time he didn't produce on the field (hopefully never again). They sent down the guy batting in the 3 hole for 9 games because they didn't like him popping off on Twitter (I actually agreed with that one). But, don't sweat it, you'll love the new stadium next year!

This adds up to them currently being in last place in the NL East and running to the drawing board on what needs to be done to ensure people will be in those new seats at their fancy new stadium after a week.

(Miami Dolphins)

Enough about the current tenants of the stadium formerly known as Joe Robbie.

Now, I have to get to the owners of the stadium. The question is, where do I begin?

Let's start after another 7-9 season. You know, about where we started to realize that 11-5 season from 3 years ago was a mirage.

The owner went on a cross country trip with the GM, all in the name of replacing the current head coach with Jim Harbaugh. That's all fine and dandy except Harbaugh is coaching the 49'ers and not the Dolphins.

Hell of a sales pitch, huh?

Now, after public humiliation and some uncomfortable conversations behind closed doors, they gave the current head coach Tony Sparano a contract extension.

You want to talk about hostile working environments? That place in Davie makes Dunder Mifflin seem functional.

To make matters worse, the marketing side of the Dolphins franchise is just as incompetent as the personnel side.

A few months ago, CEO Mike Dee had to come out if his office to explain to all of us why the Dolphins were selling New York Jets gear at their stadium. Only to remove it within a day or so.

Most recently, the Dolphins decided it would be a good idea to have, "Gator Day," on October 23rd when the Denver Broncos come to town. They thought it would be a swell time to honor the 2009 Florida Gators National Championship.

They invited Urban Meyer and 20 former players from that team over to Sun Lifeless Stadium to honor them at halftime.

Basically, they had a bunch of seats left over for the game and figured they'd piggy back on Tebow mania.

Though, the Dolphins would have you believe that they want to celebrate Mike Pouncey being on that team too.

So, let me get this straight; you're inviting people to openly root for an opposing team?

Worse even, you're inviting them to root for the third string quarterback?

Ugh! How the once mighty have fallen!

While we're on the subject, who the hell honors a 2 year anniversary of anything?

Not to mention, the fact that one of their tenants happens to be celebrating a 10 and 20 year anniversary of a championship.

I think the Dolphins should hire me as the Common Sense Consultant. Considering, no one on the business side has any.

(Miami Heat)

You hear that sound?

Me neither, because It's called silence.

Empty basketball arenas everywhere will have that same feeling.

I've always thought David Stern was the smartest and boldest commissioner in all of sports.

Is this the way he wants to end his legacy? Another work stoppage?

Especially, coming off the heels of the most successful season since Jordan!

I can't buy the NBA will forgo an entire season. After last years Heat cliffhanger this needs to be resolved ASAP.

Or at least, for the sanity of South Florida. It's the one thing South Florida can feel good about and even that's being delayed or worse (GULP) taken away entirely for a year.

I need to know if LeBron will fulfill the legacy bestowed upon him (or upon himself - depends on who you listen to) as, "THE CHOSEN ONE"

I need to know if Dwyane Wade can remain healthy enough for multiple title runs.

I need to know if Chris Bosh can channel that emotion and "get it where big guys get it," for a whole season.

I need to know if Erik Spoelstra can become the next Pat Riley.

I need to know if Pat Riley can become the next Jerry West.

I need to know if Joel Anthony (The Warden) can catch the damn ball cleanly!

Okay. You get the point.

Point is... GET IT DONE STERN!

Our sports sanity depends on it.

P.S. You might be wondering why the Florida Panthers weren't mentioned in this blog post. Well, all you need to do is check the NHL's playoff history the last decade and you'll understand why they were absent here too.

08/25/2011

There are plenty of hosts out there who boast about how good their shows or ratings are.

This post will include all the numbers for 2011 thru last month (July) in the key Men 25-54 demographic (August numbers are only halfway done to this point).

This will include the daytime shows from 6am thru 7pm which are the most listened to hours on radio.

We'll only include 790 The Ticket and 560 WQAM in this post b/c the other two stations (WINZ and WMEN) don't accumulate a 1 share in the Men 25-54 demo combined. Nothing personal. ﻿They barely register at all. So, we'll stick to the top two stations.

790 The Ticket 4.0 and 560 WQAM 4.0 (tie - The Ticket had a higher listener cume 790's was 69k to 560's was 57k)

June:

790 The Ticket - 4.2 and 560 WQAM - 2.7

July:

790 The Ticket 2.3 and 560 WQAM 1.6

As you see here, the battle between myself and Joe Rose is pretty even throughout 2011. Joe had a strong January where he kicked my butt and I had a strong June where I beat him by a significant margin. Outside of that, it's pretty close. The numbers thru seven months are 3 wins 3 losses and 1 tie for both shows. You can't get any closer than that.

I have nothing but the utmost respect for Joe. I'm pretty sure the feeling is mutual. There's obviously enough of an audience for both of us to do our thing.

In what's been a fairly competitive battle Colin Cowherd's national talk show, that airs on 790 The Ticket beat 3 hours of Toretta/Irvin combo on WQAM ﻿﻿in 5 out of the 7 months. Toretta generally broadcasts from North Carolina and Michael Irvin from Dallas.

Outside of April, where Michael Irvin (WQAM) had a sizeable win vs the Sports Brothers, it's been a fairly close competition. Though, Irvin (WQAM) has edged the Sports Brothers (The Ticket) in 5 of the 7 months.

The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz Show on 790 The Ticket is undefeated in 2011 and has won its time slot dating back over a year now. Sid Rosenberg had competative showings in January and July, but outside of that it hasn't been very close in the afternoon drive battle.

08/09/2011

The AP's Tim Reynolds had an opportunity yesterday to chat with LeBron James in Akron.

LeBron revealed he's been working out with Hakeem Olajuwon to help with his post game.

In an interview with The Associated Press, the Miami Heat forward said he is not considering offers to play internationally during the NBA lockout—with one catch. He’s committed to the 2012 Olympics and trying to help the United States defend the gold medal he helped win at the Beijing Games.

“I’m optimistic that we will have a season this year,” James said. “Very optimistic.”

A little anxious, too.

He’s working out twice a day, trying to erase some of the sting that’s still there after the Heat lost to the Dallas Mavericks in the NBA finals.

“Right now I’ve just been focusing on being a better player, working on my game every single day,” James said at a news conference before the AP interview. “Like I said, the Dallas Mavericks were a great team and they deserved to win that championship. And I’ll just use that as motivation coming into this season.”

He’s also trying to deliver on his vow to be even better whenever the Heat resume play, saying he’s been in Houston at times this offseason to learn post play from one of the game’s all-time greats, former Rockets star Hakeem Olajuwon.

“I look at what he was able to do throughout his career,” James said. “Unbelievable talent. Multiple champion. Just to see how he was able to dominate in the low post, for me as an individual, I just try to look at some of the things I feel I need to get better at and hit home at it. Our team becomes better if I continue to get better and that’s what it’s about.”

For years many have clamored for LeBron to refine his skills and take it into the post. To his credit he did work in the low block more than he ever had in previous years, but it's pretty obvious the Heat need more from him there.

So, if you're a Heat fan you should be pleased, as this is a step in the right direction.

If you'd like to hear more about Tim Reynolds' conversation with LeBron, you can click here and listen to my interview with him on my show page.

Incognito hopes that this training method helps his technique and strength in the same way it has helped guys like Clay Mathews. Mathews was able to take a huge step in his career on the other side of the ball and attributes some credit to this regimen.

07/19/2011

Plaxico Burress made the rounds on radio recently and made it seem he was very interested in playing with the Dolphins.

According to a source, who has knowledge of Burress' situation the source said, "Burress is willing to take less money to play in Miami. He and his family have lived in the area for 10 years. Dolphins GM Jeff Ireland has shown no interest in Burress."

The source did add, that Burress has been training with Donte Stallworth. Stallworth (who also lives in S. Fla.) would like to play for the Dolphins according to the source. The Dolphins are said to have interest in Stallworth's services.

06/01/2011

Shaquille O'Neal sent out a video on the social media site Tout to announce his retirement.

Here's what he sent out: Shaq ooout. #ShaqRetires http://www.tout.com/9944wo

No one should be surprised that Shaq did it this way. He knows how to get people's attention and is quite social media savvy. He was one of the first athletes to use Twitter and now has used Tout as a way to get his message across.

He will hold a press conference at his house and will take questions from the media there.

I will post two poll questions. One for the general sports fan and one for the Heat fan.